How to use multiple C-MAP Genesis maps on your sonar/GPS unit

Anglers and boaters can use multiple C-MAP Genesis maps on the same SD card or mini-SD card. This functionality is available for charts downloaded for free from Social Map and for custom Genesis Edge maps that users create with sonar recordings made with their own Lowrance depthfinders.

“We want to make C-MAP Genesis maps as easy to use as possible,” says Genesis Product Manager Matt Johnson. “We know keeping track of multiple SD cards can be difficult, as they are easily misplaced and lost. This advancement allows anglers, cruisers and sailors to keep their Insight Genesis custom maps conveniently stored on the same card, for easy use on the water.”  

Previously, only one C-MAP Genesis map could be saved on an SD card for use on the water. Note, however, that multiple maps won’t all display at the same time on your GPS/sonar unit, but they will be easily accessible via the “Chart Options” window in your sonar units’ Chart page. This is a feature for HDS Gen2 , Gen3 and Carbon units only, at this time.

Follow these steps to save multiple maps to an SD card:

1. Insert a blank 4 gB to 32 gB SD card into your computer
   • You do NOT need a special, expensive SD card
   • Any SD card of any brand will work
2. Double click the SD-card icon on your computer to open the card’s directory file menu
3. In your SD card’s directory create a folder for each waterbody on which you plan to launch your vessel
4. Name the folders with the name of each waterbody
5. If you’ve already created map files for each waterbody and have them saved onto your computer, a hard drive, or individual SD cards, follow these instructions:
   • Important: If you downloaded your map files and saved them on your computer prior to May 1, 2015, you should re-download them in order to ensure this new feature works correctly.
   • For each waterbody of interest, one at a time, copy all five of the map-creation files from the folder in which they are saved and then paste those five files into the corresponding waterbody folder on your SD
     • The five files will be named like this:
       • at5.xml
       • permits.txt
       • Vector_Large.at5
       • Vector_Medium.at5
       • Vector_Small.at5
   • Important: ALL 5 FILES are necessary for successful map display
6. If you have not yet downloaded the map files you would like to save and use on one card, follow and repeat for each waterbody of interest the map-creation and download steps in these articles:
   • How to download and load your custom C-MAP Genesis map(s) into your sonar/GPS unit
   • How to download a FREE C-MAP Genesis Social Map chart for fishing, cruising or sailing
7. After saving onto your SD card all of your folders containing map files, insert your SD card into your compatible* sonar/GPS unit.
8. Soon after you insert your card, pop-up windows with Yes/No query will open for each of the waterbodies for which you created folders and saved onto your card
9. Touch the “Yes” box for the map of the waterbody that you are on (or about to launch onto); touch “No” for all the other waterbodies saved onto the card
   • Because you have to click “No” for the maps you don’t want to load, it’s most convenient to load onto your cards only the folders for waterbodies that you likely will also be on during that day. (Examples: If you plan to lock up or down to another river pool, lake-hop around lakes/ponds a short driving distance from one another, or you’re on a waterbody that contiguously flows or opens into another separately named waterbody — a chain of lakes, for instance
10. To change from one map to another, the first step is to touch the “Chart Options” button in your chart screen (See image above)
11. Next, touch the “Chart Source” button in the drop-down that opens (see image above). The menu of options will look like this (see image above). For this example, we’ve loaded free C-MAP Genesis Social Map charts for three semi-contiguous water bodies — they’re separated by dams — on the Wisconsin River. Below, are the line-items that appear in your menu of options in our example:
    • “Navionics” — If you touch this button, a Navionics map will load (if you have a Navionics card inserted in your unit’s second card slot
      • Even if you don’t have a Navionics card inserted, this option will appear. If you don’t have a card inserted and you touch this button, a very basic shape of the waterbody might load, or nothing at all will load and display on your screen
    • “Lowrance” — If you touch this button, your unit’s built-in base map will load (see image above, bottom panel)
    • “Big Eau Plaine Reservoir” — Touch this button to load the map for this waterbody (top left, image above)
    • “Lake Du Bay” — Touch this button to load the map for this waterbody (top right, image above)
    • Wisconsion River Flowage” — Touch this button to load the map for this waterbody
12. Now, simply touch the button/name for the map that you want to switch to
13. To return to your chart menu and its full menu of options, touch the “Back” button

* To use C-MAP Genesis maps on the water, you’ll need a compatible Lowrance, Simrad or B&G chartplotter.